Giving opinions in English
Giving opinions in English
Below are some phrases that you can use to help express opinions. Some of these phrases are more appropriate for written English such as giving your opinion in an essay whereas some can also be used in spoken English.
Personal Point of View
We use these words and phrases to express a personal point of view:
- In my experience…
- As far as I’m concerned…
- Speaking for myself…
- In my opinion…
- Personally, I think…
- I’d say that…
- I’d suggest that…
- I’d like to point out that…
- I believe that…
- What I mean is…
General Point of View
We use these words and phrases to express a point of view that is generally thought by people:
- It is thought that…
- Some people say that…
- It is considered…
- It is generally accepted that…
Agreeing with an opinion
We use these words and phrases to agree with someone else’s point of view:
- Of course.
- You’re absolutely right.
- Yes, I agree.
- I think so too.
- That’s a good point.
- Exactly.
- I don’t think so either.
- So do I.
- I’d go along with that.
- That’s true.
- Neither do I.
- I agree with you entirely.
- That’s just what I was thinking.
- I couldn’t agree more.
Disagreeing with an opinion
We use these words and phrases to disagree with someone else’s point of view:
- That’s different.
- I don’t agree with you.
- However…
- That’s not entirely true.
- On the contrary…
- I’m sorry to disagree with you, but…
- Yes, but don’t you think…
- That’s not the same thing at all.
- I’m afraid I have to disagree.
- I’m not so sure about that.
- I must take issue with you on that.
- It’s unjustifiable to say that…
Advanced
- After giving this matter some (serious) thought, …
- As far as I’m concerned, …
- As the old saying goes, …
- Having given this question due consideration, …
- I am of the opinion that …
- I can’t help thinking that …
- I know this is a minority view, but / I’m in the minority in thinking that …
- I tend towards the opinion that …
- I think it’s fair/reasonable to say …
- I’ll tell you what I think, …
- I’m entirely/quite convinced that …
- I’ve come the conclusion that …
- If I must come up with an opinion / If you (really) want my opinion, …
- In my limited experience, …
- It could/might well be that …
- Know what I think? …
- My opinion was best expressed by … when s/he said/wrote …
- My view/position on this (issue) (is clear and) is that …
- Off the top of my head, …
- Plainly, …
- Quite frankly, …
- There is a part of me that says …
- This may well be controversial, but …
- To my mind / To my way of thinking, …
- To summarize my (rather complex) views on the matter, …
- What I always say is …
- With some reservations, …
- Without a shred/shadow of doubt, …
- You’d have to be crazy not to agree that / Any idiot can see that …
